One death on Dubai roads every 36 hours

Road accidents killed 127 people on Dubai’s roads in the first nine months of 2013, an average of one death every 36 hours, according to police data.

The number of casualties was far below that recorded in the same period of 2012 although there were more accidents last year, the figures showed.

From 2,119 in the first nine months of 2012, the number of road mishaps declined to 2,062 in the first nine months of 2013, the report said.

But deaths surged to 127 this year from 83 in the same period of last year while the number of injuries dropped to 1,714 this year from 2,119 last year.

“These figures show that the problem is that serious road accidents keep happening in Dubai and hence the higher number of deaths,” said Colonel Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, Dubai’s traffic police acting chief.

His figures, published in the Arabic language daily Emarat Al Youm, showed nearly 60 per cent of the accidents this year were caused by sudden change of lanes, mistakes by road users and failure by drivers to leave enough space between their vehicles.

The figures also showed drunk driving caused 201 accidents, which resulted in the death of eight people and the injury of 56.

Mazroui said Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road emerged as the most dangerous street in Dubai this year as 18 people were killed in crashes on that road.

It was followed by Emirates Road, where 12 people were killed, and Sheikh Zayed Road, which recorded 11 deaths in just eight accidents.

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